Chimpanzee Attack: Victim Gets \$4m Settlement

A woman who was blinded, lost both hands and underwent a face transplant after being mauled by a chimpanzee has agreed a \$4m (£2.5m) settlement.

Attack victim Charla Nash's family had filed a lawsuit seeking \$50m (£31.2m) in damages from chimp owner Sandra Herold, who died in 2010.

Ms Nash was attacked outside Ms Herold's home in Stamford, Connecticut in February 2009.

"The case is resolved," said Brenden Leydon, the lawyer representing Ms Herold's estate. "I think it was a fair compromise on all sides."

Ms Nash, 57, now lives in a nursing home outside of Boston.

She had gone to Ms Herold's on the day of the attack to help lure the 200lb (91kg) chimpanzee, Travis, back into her home.

But the animal went berserk and ripped off Ms Nash's nose, lips, eyelids and hands before being shot dead by a police officer.

A month after the mauling, Ms Nash's family sued Ms Herold for alleged negligence and recklessness.

The lawsuit alleged Ms Herold knew Travis was dangerous, but failed to confine him to a secure area and allowed him to roam her property.

Travis had previously bitten another woman's hand and tried to drag her into a car in 1996. Two years later he had bitten a man's thumb.

In 2003, he escaped from Ms Herold's home and roamed around the town for hours before being captured, according to the court papers.

The family is trying to sue the state for \$150m (£93m), but is awaiting permission from the state claims commissioner.

Ms Nash also wants to sue the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which she holds responsible for not seizing the animal before the attack despite a state biologist's warning it was dangerous.